Has anybody had any experience with either of these? Or, are there any alternatives I don't know about you can recommend? There seems to be quite a bit more choice available on the US side of the pond, and i'm curious to alternatives that could be available there - if the product is right i'd be happy to import.

Any thoughts, comments etc people can offer me would be greatly appreciated to help my decision making process.

I was looking at the Altair Astro one recently- I was actually thinking about trying to get one here in the states as it looks like it is a 6" diameter and if it was priced around $300 with shipping that would still be a good deal here- as there are no 6" portable piers available here for the EQ6 in that price range.... The Epsilon one you have linked appears to be a 4" model- which, to me probably functionally would be fine, but having put my eq6 on the Orion extension post, which is a 4", it just looks a bit spindly (not that looks have anything to do with functionality, but it is a confidence thing when putting expensive scopes on that spindly looking extension)

One additional option is the AP 6" portable pier, with an adapter plate- this is probably the beefiest one available (but I have not seen the Altair Astro or Epsilon ones in person, so this is just my opinion)

Would love to hear back from you if you do manage to inspect the Altair one.

Thanks for your reply. I quite like the look of the Altair Astro pier but at Â£999 here in the UK it seems a bit expensive to me, it looks a little short maybe for using with a refractor though? I may give Ian a ring at Altair and have a chat with him...

You share my concerns with the Epsilon also - it looks rather spindly - though the plus side is it's a very flexible and versatile system in terms of accesories etc. The company is only half an hours drive for me so I may pop over for a visit to see an example in the 'flesh.'

Piers and tripods in general seem a rarity as a retro fit here in the UK - I guess the other options are to go for a custom pier, my buddy Stephen from the solar system was particularly impressed with this beast that he got >>> http://www.stephenra...Pier review.pdf The other way would to be to go for something like an AP portable pier and then get a custom adapter plate built to connect the EQ6. If anybody has any specific thoughts on alternative portable piers from AP or elsewhere please feel free to share them with me to help with the decision making process.

I have an Antares pier from Sky Instruments in Canada, and until recently Orion sold a poorly-described adapter that actually fits the Antares pier and is designed for the Atlas/EQ-6 mount head. I'll try and find the part number on the Orion adapter though I don't see it in the online catalog under mount accessories.

I haven't used it yet as I need to figure out how to remove the current adapter (for a CG5) from the pier. The current adapter has a remote head bolt tightening knob that threads through the pier wall.

How do you deal with the hold down bolt? Or is it verrrryyyy long?? lol

Actually, I used the stock bolt. The adapter was bolted to the Atlas and the whole assembly was placed on top of the pier, then held on with the usual wing bolts. The adapter is actually small and light.

Thanks for the link, i'm glad you have a positive opinion (and still do!) of the Epsilon. After searching round i've come to the conclusion semi portable piers like this are pretty much a rarity in the UK - there are plenty of permanent ones to choose from, but where I live at the moment a permanent one simply isn't an option. I think I may well just take the plunge and go for the epsilon, question is how do I sneak it in without the mrs noticing